It was announced Monday that Prineville police Chief Larry Seymour and Capt. Rob Gray resigned “effective immediately.”

They were investigated for what was called an internal non-criminal, personnel matter. They did not face discipline.

What could it have been? What could it have been that they would feel the need to resign and that they did not warrant discipline? We don’t know. And we may never know.

There is a provision in Oregon’s public records statutes that allows investigative records in a personnel matter that doesn’t result in discipline to be exempt from public disclosure.

That statute is there to prevent public employees from embarrassment and ridicule when an investigation determined that no discipline was necessary.

We get that. But is the public interest best served by that provision in this case? Can an internal investigation always be trusted? Or should the public be allowed to see the results and decide for themselves, when it involves people who enforce the laws?